241 | The Voices That Built Us: Confronting Power, Memory, and the Ancestors We Choose

Naomi Ishisaka, columnist with The Seattle Times breaks down her sit-down with Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, offering a clear look at how the city’s leadership is navigating public safety, inequality, and community demands.The conversation highlights a more nuanced, listening-driven approach to governance and what it means for communities of color facing real, everyday pressures.Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

In this episode, JJ Green speaks with William H. Lamar IV, pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and author of Ancestors, about how the past continues to shape power, identity, and decision-making today.Lamar makes a compelling case that our ancestors are not behind us—they are active, influencing everything from politics to personal belief.Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

Melissa Hellmann, senior reporter on the Guardian US's race and equity team joins us to update us on the top stories related to race in U.S., her travels and her career. And she's give us some thoughts about race in America, right now.Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

Mahogany Books was built on a simple but urgent idea: make Black books accessible—no matter where you live. For Derrick and Ramunda, that mission is personal. From growing up near Tulsa’s historic Black Wall Street without ever being taught its history to witnessing generational change and gentrification in Washington, D.C., their work is about closing gaps—in knowledge, in visibility, and in opportunity. They discuss it all with us. Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

A substitute teacher once told her, “You’re in charge.” Years later, Victoria Sanchez reflects on heritage, newsroom bias, disinformation, and the duty to elevate every voice in America’s story. From a high school broadcast class to anchoring in Washington, she is candid about why the next generation of journalists must get out of their comfort zone to tell America’s full story.Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

We are living through the most aggressive information war in history—and most people don’t even know they’re in it. It impacts people of all races, ages, identities and persuasions.The Noise War Handbook, written by Colors host J.J. Green. It is a frontline guide to surviving an era of disinformation, manipulation, and engineered chaos. Drawing on decades of national security reporting and real-world case studies, he breaks down how false narratives spread, why they work, and—most importantly—how to stop them from hijacking your judgment.You can get the book at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GBY6SHGJTweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

In this episode, Dr. Wanda Tucker shares her extraordinary story as a direct descendant of the first African child born in the English colonies. From Hampton University to Angola, she retraces her family’s path from enslavement to resilience—revealing a legacy that reshapes how we understand American history. This is where memory meets movement. Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

The U.S. Coast Guard has walked back a contentious policy change on hate symbols after public reporting revealed an internal draft that softened restrictions on displaying swastikas and nooses. Veterans, Jewish organizations, and members of Congress erupted in protest—forcing the service to reverse course and insist that “nothing ever changed.” Lene Mees de Tricht, Deputy Director for Membership Engagement of Common Defense joins us on this episode to discuss the reaction. Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

We go behind the scenes. In this special episode of Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America, we reflect on an extraordinary milestone—winning the 2025 Belva Davis News and Broadcast Award from SAG-AFTRA's American Scene Awards. Born from heartbreak and driven by truth, Colors has become a platform for real conversations on race, justice, and belonging. Join us as we share the moment, the mission, and the powerful segment that helped earn this national recognition. Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com. 

When veteran international journalist Natasha Ghoneim returned to Iowa City, the town where she grew up as “the little brown girl,” she didn’t expect to be reminded what that label still meant. But at a neighborhood gas station, a simple misunderstanding turned into something more dangerous: a cashier called the police on her for asking for a refund. Weeks later in Chicago, a woman punched her through her car window after a brief exchange in traffic.In this episode we sit down with Natasha to explore how race, identity, and belonging collide not in far-off places she’s reported from, but in the heart of America she calls home.It’s a story about fear, grace, and the quiet courage it takes to return and to stay.Tweet us at @podcastcolors. Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com.